The defending Section 8A Champion and State runner-up Fertile-Beltrami Falcons showcased why they earned those accolades as they took care of the Kelliher-Northome Mustangs by a score of 78-41 at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
FIRST HALF –
In terms of starting a game, you can’t start one much better than the Falcons, who scored 6 points quickly in the first minute. The post duo of Preston Hanson and Drew Gullickson immediately became a tandem that the Mustangs could do next to nothing with. Kaanan Forseen and Anthony Johnson tried to keep the team afloat, but the dominant post play from the Falcons brought them straight to a 23-9 lead, where Northome-Kelliher had to burn two quick timeouts. As the half went on, the Falcons played like they couldn’t miss, and were making shots from all over the court. Bryer Strem hit a floater in the paint, Caleb Sather hit a corner 3-pointer and Gage Hendrickson inserted himself into the post once Hanson got into foul trouble, making putback layups and free throws. This all catapulted into a 48-16 lead. After the Mustangs scored 5 unanswered points, it looked like they would start to get momentum, but a foul and a technical from Braxton Cloud gave the Falcons 4 free points at the end of the half, giving them a 52-21 advantage at the break.
SECOND HALF –
Fertile-Beltrami looked to continue their positive momentum from the first half, and they did just that, as four different Falcons scored to open the half on a 9-0 run. The Falcons’ strength throughout the course of this game was their passing; they spread the ball around and shared wealth throughout the contest, and it was just too much for Kelliher-Northome. Billy Jack Schoenborn shined for Mustangs, leading the team in the game with 10 points, all of which scored in the 2nd half, but the Falcon defense made scoring on a consistent basis impossible for the Mustangs. On top of that, Kaanan Forseen fouled out with 7:23 remaining, leaving the Mustangs at a distinct height disadvantage. The pace slowed down from there as the teams emptied their benches. Overall, 12 different players for Fertile-Beltrami scored in the game, and the Falcons cruised to a 78-41 victory.
Fertile-Beltrami improves to 24-5 and will take on Kittson County Central on Wednesday in the Section 8A Semifinal. Kelliher Northome drops to 15-14 to end the year.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Kelliher/Northome | 21 | 20 | 41 |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 52 | 26 | 78 |
| Fertile-Beltrami | Points |
| Drew Gullickson | 17 |
| Preston Hanson | 15 |
| Gage Hendrickson | 11 |
| Caleb Sather | 9 |
| Easton Petry | 6 |
| Caleb Stoltman | 5 |
| Bryer Strem | 4 |
| Kane Oistad | 3 |
| Steven Sather | 2 |
| Matthew Leiser | 2 |
| Erik Stromstad | 2 |
| Easton Fredericks | 2 |
| Kelliher-Northome | Points |
| Billy Jack Schoenborn | 10 |
| Kaanan Forseen | 8 |
| Anthony Johnson | 8 |
| Jayden Lindley | 7 |
| Braxton Cloud | 3 |
| Arian Lyons | 3 |
| Landon Heide | 2 |
